How Perplexity's ads worked
Perplexity's format was the sponsored follow-up question, a suggested next question paid for by a brand, labeled "sponsored" and shown beside an answer. Perplexity said answers to those questions were still generated by its AI, not written or edited by the sponsor, and that advertisers didn't get access to users' personal information1. The sponsored question appeared after a user's prompt, alongside Perplexity's own related questions4.
Why it ended
The Financial Times reported in February 2026 that Perplexity was winding down advertising, citing concerns that ads could make people doubt the independence of its answers23. Perplexity is one of two AI products on this tracker to step back from ads. The other, Claude, never had them.
Can you still advertise on Perplexity?
We aren't aware of any paid placement available on Perplexity today. Brands that want to appear in its answers are relying on being cited as a source, which is organic visibility rather than advertising, and outside what this tracker covers. If Perplexity brings ads back, we'll update this page and the status board.